Woolstencroft wins fifth gold medal

Lauren Woolstencroft of Canada competes in the Women's Standing Combined Super-G during Day 9 of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympics at Whistler Creekside in Whistler, Canada.Quinn Rooney
/ Getty Images

Lauren Woolstencroft (centre) of Canada shows off her 4th gold medal from women's super G , along with Melanie Corrradini (left) of Italy, and Andrea Rothfuss of Germany, the at 2010 Paralympic Games March 19, 2010 in Whistler B.C.Mark Van Manen
/ PNG News Service

Related

WHISTLER, B.C. — Lauren Woolstencroft of North Vancouver, B.C., won her fifth gold medal — the most ever by a Canadian at single Winter Paralympics — by taking the women’s standing super-combined skiing event on Saturday at the 2010 Games.

Woolstencroft — who earlier won gold in downhill, slalom, super-G and giant slalom — finished in a time of two minutes 22.67 seconds, 12.15 seconds ahead of silver medallist Solene Jambaque of France.

Karolina Wisniewska of Vancouver won bronze in 2:35.47.

With the win, Woolstencroft equalled the Canadian record held by wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc and swimmer Stephanie Dixon for gold medals won at a single Paralympics, winter or summer.

"I had to be super focused today, but obviously I am so happy,” Woolstencroft said. “I really didn’t expect this. With so many people yelling at me this week, I’m mentally fried.

"We skipped the last World Cup, which some people questioned, but I believed in it and I came here fully rested."

Canadians have won 17 medals at the Games — a record eight gold, five silver and four bronze — breaking the 15-medal total reached at Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake City in 2002, when many more medals were awarded. Canadians won 13 medals at the Turin Games four years ago.

Woolstencroft, who has 10 Paralympic medals in her career, said she didn’t know how she’d celebrate her Games, but she hoped to join her teammates Saturday night in Whistler.

"I’m super tired right now, but I’m going to celebrate with my team,” she said. “I don’t know what we will do but we will just enjoy the moment. We are a tight team and a small group and we train together all year."

Woolstencroft, who was born missing both legs below the knee and her left arm below the elbow, works as an engineer for BC Hydro when she’s not competing. The 28-year-old thought about retiring after the Turin Games, but decided she wanted to stick around for her home Games. She doesn’t yet know if she’ll compete at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

"I don’t know what’s on the horizon and I’m going to take some time to reflect and see what happens," she said.

Elsewhere:

• Viviane Forest of Edmonton won her fifth medal in five Paralympic events, taking silver in the women’s visually impaired super-combined on Saturday.

Forest and guide Lindsay Debou finished the event — which includes one run of super-G and one slalom run — in a combined time of 2:35.94. That left them 1.33 seconds back of Slovakia’s Henrieta Farkasova.

Danielle Umstead of the United States won bronze.

"I tried to get gold. I’m a little bit disappointed, but I’m sore, it’s simple," said Forest, who has been battling a groin injury throughout the Games. "That injury, it started to play on my brain. I was really nervous about whether I would be able to perform."

Racing with guide Nick Brush, Williamson posted the fastest slalom run in the race — 50.47 seconds — but couldn’t overcome his sixth-place finish in the super-G portion of the competition held earlier in the morning. His combined time of 2:18.42 left him tied with Nicolas Berejny of France, 3.81 seconds back of Slovakian gold medallist Jakub Krako.

Williamson, 37, entered the Games with multiple medal hopes, but leaves with two fourth-place finishes, two sixths and a DNF in the downhill.

"I think they all hurt. In terms of ski racing, this has been the worst week of my life," he said. "Now all I can do is aim for Russia (and the 2014 Winter Paralympics)."

Vancouver Sun

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Share

Woolstencroft wins fifth gold medal

Video

Sports Highlights

Best of Postmedia

To steel himself for the year-long journey that began Wednesday, Jonathan Pitre has been going over the hard calculus that underpins his decision to pursue a high-risk, high-reward treatment in Minnesota

When he woke up in tears the morning after he had cried himself to sleep, Rohit Saxena knew what he had to do. Leaving his wife, Lesley, asleep in bed, Rohit went downstairs, opened his laptop and began to write. “They say your kids are your hearts outside your body,” he wrote. “I’ll always be […]

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.